6 comments:

The problem with switching to cement is that it requires significant amounts of heat, currently provided by natural gas, or rarely, coke. If roads are switched to concrete this means a big increase in CO2 output (cement is already one of the largests sources of CO2 world wide). The same issues affect ceramic bricks (which are also brittle).

I work in the refining industry, and there is a huge push to make more diesel. So you upgrade the asphalt molecules (break them essentially) to lighter components. It leaves you with coke (heavier), and diesel/gasoline.

A big thing though is that asphalt prices didn't start their run up until a few years after oil did. As refiners started processing heavier crudes (after the decline of the North Sea and similar fields), there were more asphalt molecules to go around.

So road makers had a reprieve on asphalt costs for a few extra years. So now as asphalt has 'caught up' its pretty painful.

I'm transitioning my writing over to my other site which was previously called The Direct Transfer. People seemed to be confused by the differences in brand between The Overhead Wire and The Direct Transfer so I made a change and combined the two as The Overhead Wire.

This page will continue to be here and will still be updated sparingly as it has over the last few years, however new original analysis and writing will be featured at TheOverheadWire.com in addition to the news archive and The Overhead Wire Daily email.